


Listen Before I Go

by Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee



Series: Sladiver Song Fics [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Depression, M/M, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 12:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18366449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee/pseuds/Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee
Summary: Take me to the rooftop, I wanna see the world when I stop breathing,Tell me love in endless, don’t be so pretentious, leave me like you do.If you need me, wanna see me, better hurry ‘cause I’m leaving soon.





	Listen Before I Go

 He had dragged himself here, collapsing on the edge of the skyscraper, overlooking the city below. The distant wail of sirens echoed in the night air, blue lights staining the dark sky. From far down below, the raised voices of children were barely audible as they laughed, running along the sidewalk together. His presence went unnoticed, the roof of this building was inaccessible from inside after all.

Blood slowly seeped from the gaping slash across his chest and stomach, he tasted it in his mouth, choked on the rusty taste as it coated his throat. It was hard to breathe. If Felicity or John were here, they’d tell him to go to the hospital, tell him that he’d be alright if they just hurried, and maybe they were right. The wound would be cleaned and stitched, he could keep living. But no one was there, and Oliver knew the only way out was down. It had been for a while now.

He longed to reach out to Slade one last time, but the man was gone, as he always was. Just like the dozens of other times in the past, he had left, promising to be back. That promise wasn’t much good now. It didn’t matter, he was always going to leave, and it had been inevitable that eventually when he left, he wouldn’t come back to Oliver. It was ironic, that just a few days ago he had sent a message, saying he wanted to see Oliver. The archer hadn’t meant for his reply to be so prophetic.

_It better be soon._

Thunder rumbled above his head, dark clouds blocking the moon. A cold breeze lifted the corner of his hood, carrying the scent of rain. But no water fell from the sky, and that didn’t explain the single drop that stood on his face. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain. His chest barely moved, the small task of drawing in air had grown almost impossible.

His head pounded, an ache that had haunted him for nearly a year, when things had gone to barely manageable to utterly impossible. Not even the hood was able to stave away the desolation, and Slade had never been there to help. It seemed those were the times he always picked to slip away on his newest mission, and Oliver had never asked him to stay, or spoken about it at all. Felicity and John didn’t understand, but Slade still knew, somehow, maybe it was just the amount of time they had spent in each other’s company. Maybe it was because he was the only one Oliver ever trusted to accompany him to the three graves behind the abandoned mansion outside of town. And so, the greyness had just grown, like a tree twisting its branches higher, it roots deeper. Slade had wanted to say sorry, to change things, Oliver knew that, yet he had never tried. And it wouldn’t change anything now, it wouldn’t make things better. It wouldn’t save him. After all, the only way out was down. The clouds growled, and Oliver’s eyes cracked open as he looked upward.

“Better hurry, Slade.” He didn’t know if the words actually made it out, or if they died, drowned by the blood in his throat, the ground around him was heavily stained. He wished he could have found a way to that life that was just out of their reach. The one where they were happy, where Slade didn’t leave, where he didn’t have to leave. And where Oliver didn’t bring in his own confusion and struggles to add to their problems. It brought a feeling of déjà vu, lying alone in the night, his life’s blood slowly draining from his body.

Love wasn’t endless, he had never wanted to hear such an exaggeration. He didn’t need elaborate vow that promised infinity, he just needed to know that in the next few minutes, somehow, Slade would be there, that this time he wouldn’t walk away. He always knew it would come to an end, he just hadn’t thought he’d be the one to end it. He really should call Felicity or John, but he didn’t have anything to say. He’d miss them. He’d miss _Slade_ , as he missed him every time Slade had walked out the door.

He was so sorry he didn’t know how to do this. Sorry this was what it came to. Sorry he had always let the darkness creep into their lives. Sorry that Slade had said he needed Oliver. Sorry that he had only remembered how much Oliver needed him when Slade was gone. He needed him. He missed him. He loved him. But he wasn’t sorry, not for this.

He didn’t know if he slipped or jumped, he didn’t even know he had fallen at first, he barely felt the air rushing past him, barely felt his body crash into the cement, his bone shatter. Faintly, he heard a woman scream, and the desperate shout for someone to call the police, then, it was all gone.


End file.
